The Royal College of Nursing’s (RCN) professional lead for primary care nursing sat down with Nursing in Practice to discuss how the college is working to improve the ‘precarious position’ of practice nursing by encouraging leadership opportunities and challenging pay disparity between NHS and general practice nurses (GPNs).
Kim Ball said the RCN is working closely with other unions to examine the professional impact of poor pay on practice nurses, an issue that she says hasn’t been considered in ‘great depth’ before now.
What is the RCN doing to improve GPN pay?
The RCN is using exclusive findings from a Nursing in Practice salary survey to inform its approach to pay negotiation and tackle inconsistency in GPN pay.
‘Within the college there is a focus on trying to improve general practice nurse pay, recognising that the survey results clearly demonstrated that pay really isn’t getting down to nurses,’ Ms Ball explained.
She cautioned that the government’s recent decision to scrap NHS England could have an as yet ‘unknown’ impact on RCN pay negotiations, adding that the union is currently looking at how it can ‘overcome any barriers’ caused by the change.
The results revealed that the average salary of a full-time (or full-time equivalent) GPN working in the UK is only £35,057.
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Only 11% of survey respondents said they receive a monetary bonus in addition to their salary, with 63% feeling unable to proactively try and negotiate a pay rise each year.
Ms Ball added that a GPN pay uplift is vital for delivering ‘equity’ among nursing staff, regardless of where they work.
‘There should be fair pay across the board, it shouldn’t matter if you work directly for an NHS organisation or not.
‘If you’re delivering NHS care, then you should be appropriately remunerated for that work,’ she said.
A future-ready workforce
Ms Ball explained that primary care provision will be ‘directly impacted’ unless the GPN workforce is big enough to keep up with patient demand.
‘Unless we solve the problem of pay, we’re not going to have a general practice workforce in the future,’ she warned.
‘GPNs need to be able to afford to live and enjoy their lives and not be adversely impacted by choosing a career in general practice compared to other areas within the NHS,’ Ms Ball added.
She said that ‘goodwill only lasts so long,’ but repeated her commitment to encourage nurses into a ‘fantastic career’ in practice nursing.
Practice nurse leadership
Ms Ball said the RCN is looking at improving leadership opportunities for GPNs and hinted that an update in this area could be coming ‘towards the end of the year’.
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Having worked across clinical and leadership roles herself, including as the director of nursing at Avon Local Medical Committee, Ms Ball described what she had gained from nursing leadership.
‘It’s really empowering to step into those roles, to be able to have a voice and for that voice to be heard and listened to,’ she said.
Ms Ball added that practice nurses can feel ‘quite fearful’ about raising concerns, especially as most GPNs work for small organisations.
‘Earning that respect and having that position where you can influence and really make a positive change within the general practice nursing profession, that’s a really positive and rewarding aspect,’ she explained.
The precarious position of general practice
Ms Ball stood by her previous description of practice nursing as in a ‘precarious position’ and said GPNs were in ‘much the same position’ as when she exclusively spoke with Nursing in Practice last September.
She said ‘one positive’ that has been seen since last year is the promise for greater investment in general practice premises.
‘I don’t think we truly understand what the future is going to look like,’ Ms Ball admitted.
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Last October, the government pledged £102m to upgrade GP practice buildings.
Earlier this month it was revealed that the funding would be expected to spread across 1000 GP practices, rather than 200 as initially announced by the government.
Nursing in Practice has heard of GPNs working in tight and unsuitable premises, including at once surgery where a nurse is working in a former storage cupboard.
